On July 15, lucky visitors, to the African Village Exhibit at ZOO Brno, witnessed the birth of a Chapman’s Zebra!
The foal was born, at the Czech zoo, to mom Arwen and dad, Elvis.
Photo Credits: Zoo Brno (Images 1 - 4); Marie Pilátová (Images 5 - 11)
The Chapman’s Zebra is a subspecies of the Plains Zebra. Like their relatives, they are native to the savannah of northeast South Africa, north to Zimbabwe, west into Botswana, the Caprivi Strip in Namibia, and southern Angola.
The Chapman's Zebra eats mainly grass and occasionally shrubs. They are currently at low risk status on the IUCN Red List, but like other animals, are still under threat because of habitat destruction and illegal poaching.
Chapman's Zebra is distinguished by stripes on the lower halves of the legs, which break up into many irregular brown spots. The pastern is not completely black on the lower half. When foals are born they have brown stripes, and in some cases, adults do not develop the black coloration in their fur and keep their brown stripes. Males usually weigh 600–800 pounds and stand at 48–52" tall. Females approximately weigh 500–700 pounds and stand as tall as the males
Like most members of the horse family, zebras, in general, are highly social. Their social structure, however, depends on the species. Like horses, zebras sleep standing up, and only sleep when neighbors are around to warn them of predators.
Female zebras mature earlier than the males, and a mare may have her first foal by the age of three. Males are not able to breed until the age of five or six. Mares may give birth to one foal every twelve months. She nurses the foal for up to a year. Like horses, zebras are able to stand, walk and suckle shortly after they are born.
Amazing pics of the birth, taken by Zoo Brno visitor Marie Pilátová, below the fold!